Taylor
A high-profile leader of an ecumenical Christian organization pushing for social justice and peace will present the 2023 Annual William R. Laws Peacemaking Lecture at 3 p.m. May 7 at First Presbyterian Church, 512 Seventh St. in downtown Columbus.
The Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, president of Sojourners, will speak on, “Where Do We Go From Here? Toxic Polarization or Beloved Community?” A moderated question-and-answer session will follow, plus a reception.
As president of Sojourners, Taylor regularly appears as a speaker at colleges and universities, denominational meetings, faith conferences, and other gatherings, according to websites listing his background and experience.
The Rev. Felipe Martinez, First Presbyterian pastor, sees Taylor as a key figure.
“Rev. Taylor is a dynamic speaker whose unifying message is crucial for this time of division in our country,” Martinez said.
The lecture series is named after First Presbyterian’s former longtime pastor known for his fierce social justice leadership in south-central Indiana and elsewhere in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s amid the civil rights movement.
Taylor’s remarks will be based upon his book “In a More Perfect Union: A New Vision for Building the Beloved Community.”
Now-late U.S. Rep John Lewis, a heralded social justice warrior, wrote in the book’s foreword, “Adam builds the clear case for America’s need to come to terms with and repent for the ways it has woefully fallen short of extending the full meaning of its creed to all.”
The author “re-imagines a contemporary version of the beloved community that will inspire and unite Americans across generations, geographic and class divides, racial and gender differences, faith traditions, and ideological leanings,” according to the work’s promotional material.
Taylor previously led the Faith Initiative at the World Bank Group and served as the vice president in charge of Advocacy at World Vision U.S. and the senior political director at Sojourners. He has also served as the executive director of Global Justice, an organization that educates and mobilizes students around global human rights and economic justice.
He was selected for the 2009/2010 class of White House Fellows and served in the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs and Public Engagement. Taylor is a graduate of Emory University, the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology.
Taylor also serves on the Independent Sector Board, the Global Advisory Board of Tearfund UK, and is a member of the inaugural class of the Aspen Institute Civil Society Fellowship. Taylor is ordained in the American Baptist Church and the Progressive National Baptist Convention and serves in ministry at the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia.
